The Best Restaurants in NYC for Every Dating Situation

With more than 4,200 restaurants across the city, picking the perfect date spot in NYC might seem as simple as closing your eyes and pointing. Far from it—there’s an art to dining à deux, and all that choice just makes it harder to mastermind the perfect move. The reality is, the soul-searching and self-doubt doesn’t end with a positive response to, “Would you like to have dinner with me?”

Time of day (brunch or dinner?), day of the week (Friday or Saturday), borough (Manhattan or Brooklyn?), attire (dinner jacket or jeans?), and cuisine (tacos or bone marrow?) are just a few of the criteria to consider when matching a restaurant to your particular romantic entanglement.

Group Date: Jeepney

Address and phone: 201 First Ave (212-533-4121)
Website: jeepneynyc.com
Unless everyone in the crowd knows each other well, there’s a certain awkwardness that comes with a group date. There’s usually the one newcomer, the one person who drinks too much, and/or the one idiot who ends up hitting on someone else’s date. Why not embrace an evening where anything can happen with an adventurous dining experience chock full of cuisine that is likely totally new to all of you. Filipino gastropub Jeepney offers shareable dishes of fertilized duck embryo or roasted chicken with braised pigs feet that will surely keep the conversation lively. And the pinup girls who adorn the walls keep it sexy. Pro tip: Order the secret Katipunan menu.

Determined to Get Laid Date: The Dutch

Address and phone: 131 Sullivan Street (212-677-6200)
Website: thedutchnyc.com
When your only goal for dinner is to have it end with breakfast the next morning, it’s easy to get lost in the “wine her and dine her” mentality and call in as many favors as you can to score a prime table at Eleven Madison Park. But the high-roller move is played out and—worse—transparent. Andrew Carmellini’s inventive American fare hits just the right note of classy and casual, impressive but not trying too hard. And should your plans of seduction come to fruition, the Dutch serves a mean brunch, too. (Tip: Do save room for pastry chef Kierin Baldwin’s signature Devil’s Food Cake with black pepper boiled icing.)

Saturday Brunch Date: Calliope

Address and phone: 84 E 4th Street (212-260-8484)
Website: calliopenyc.com
Brunch dates are to the new millennium what coffee dates were in the 1990s: a cautious get-together where the asker is interested enough to make a date with the askee, but dubious enough about the outcome to plan for it to be as short and noncommittal as possible. This East Village corner bistro keeps things informal with its laidback, neighborhood-y vibe but offers a chance for lingering at its inviting sidewalk tables if all goes well. And if all really goes well, the Sunshine Cinema is an easy five-block stroll away.

Reconnected After Many Years on Facebook Date: Motorino

Address and phone: 349 E 12th Street (212-777-2644)
Website: motorinopizza.com
It has been 15 years since you’ve seen your elementary school crush, whose pigtails you used to pull as a subtle way of conveying your romantic interest. She recently friended you on Facebook and you’ve been flirting up an online storm ever since. Her relationship status says, “It’s Complicated,” so you’re not quite sure whether this is a “date” date or a “let’s catch up and exchange pictures of our fabulous spouses and kids” get-together. Keep the vibe amenable to either scenario by splitting a Brussels-sprout pie at Motorino (side of cafeteria corn not required).

First Date With Someone You’ve Already Slept With: Salvation Taco

Address and phone: 145 E 39th Street (212-865-5800)
Website: salvationtaco.com
Making a first date with someone you’ve already slept with is like the relationship version of Memento—completely backwards. And truthfully, the restaurant of choice really depends on whether you’re hoping to make the magic happen a second time. If it’s an awkward next morning and you simply feel that a proper meal is due for services rendered, to The Tick-Tock Diner you go. But if you’re curious to see whether the sex might lead to a relationship, you want to err on the side of caution. Too fancy a resto could scare him or her off; too casual a spot could make it feel like guilt eating. Salvation Taco strikes just the right balance of being laidback but still happening, with a unique menu of tacos that includes brisket, braised lamb shoulder, tamarind-glazed pork shank, and roasted cauliflower. There’s also a potent cocktail list, including a pitcher of Salvation’s signature margarita, served with Guajillo chili salt. And if that doesn’t break the ice after you’ve already seen each other naked, there’s always ping pong!

Six-Year Anniversary with No Sign of Marriage in Sight: Tamarind Tribeca

Address and phone: 99 Hudson Street (212-775-9000)
Website: tamarindrestaurantsnyc.com
Your relationship has been chugging along at a perfectly pleasant pace for the past six years. You are deeply committed to your better half, but a marriage certificate is not something that’s particularly important—or appealing—to you and your significant other seems to agree. Despite the constant onslaught of questions from friends and family about “When are the two of you going to make it official?”, you’re more than content to continue living in sin for the rest of your lives.
Still, six years of non-matrimony is something to celebrate, and you want to do it with style. Enter Tamarind Tribeca, the downtown offshoot of the Flatiron District’s innovative Indian stalwart, with fine-dining service and a region-hopping menu that includes 10 dishes straight from the tandoor oven. What makes the Tribeca outpost distinct—and memorable—is its soaring, bi-level dining room lined with more than 100 feet of windows. Request to be seated at one of the intimate banquettes that are made even more private by the sheer curtains that divide you from other diners (but not so private that she'll expect you're about to pop the question).

Meet the Parents Date: Blue Hill

Address and phone: 75 Washington Place (212-539-1776)
Website: bluehillfarm.com
Driving home to meet the parents of your significant other is nerve-wracking enough: you’re on their home turf and there’s that whole “Will they or won’t they let us share a bed?” question. But arranging a dinner out for the four of you in the big city comes with just as many complications, as the restaurant you choose says a lot about who you are as a person—and a potential mate. Blue Hill is the answer to all your parental dilemmas. It’s adventurous but approachable, meaning that even the most boring of palettes will find something of interest. And the restaurant’s commitment to sustainability paints you (whether correctly or not) as a person who cares about the world we live in—and the one in which your eventual children (their grandchildren?) will grow up. The bonus? Mom and dad will likely pick up the tab, so go ahead, order that $45 grass-fed beef!

Date With a Texas Transplant: Hill Country

Address and phone: 30 W 26th Street (212-255-4544)
Website: hillcountryny.com
You can take the kid out of Texas, but you can’t take the Texas out of the kid. Show your downhome date that you can handle a two-pound platter of dry-rubbed ‘cue at this Central Texas-meets-Manhattan eatery, where all the meats are smoked daily in-house and served up on butcher paper. Monday nights offer a $27 all-you-can-eat buffet of brisket, pork spare ribs, chicken, and more than a dozen Lone Star State sides (including deviled eggs, mac and cheese and skillet cornbread). Who says wet-naps can’t be erotic? Don't miss the Kreuz Market sausages, straight out of Lockhart, TX—they're insane.

Day-Drinking Date: Grand Ferry

Address and phone: 229 Kent Ave, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-782-8500)
Website: grandferrynyc.com
Sometimes, the true test of compatibility is whether your date can match you drink for drink. With its warm and intentionally well-worn wooden interiors, this nautical-themed tavern just a block from the East River is cozy enough to make day-drinking feel like a proper date. And if a plate of oysters with citrus-herbed butter doesn’t help put you in the mood, the chance to order yet another one of Grand Ferry’s suggestive-sounding cocktails—like the Hey Sailor!—should do the trick.

Tinder Date: Charlie Bird

Address and phone: 5 King Street (212-235-7133)
Website: charliebirdnyc.com
The hordes of attractive singletons using Tinder have a knack for making their coolness seem effortless. Charlie Bird—the newly minted West Village hot spot which declares itself “an abstract approach to be whoever we wanted to be, without boundaries”—shares those values. Grab a seat at the bar for an added layer of nonchalance (and a quick getaway, should your in-app flirtations not translate to real-life chemistry). And don’t forget to practice your French pronunciations ahead of time, so that when you order a $240 bottle of Château Haut-Brion from the exceptional wine list, it will sound as if it’s your no-big-deal swill of choice. The small-plates menu is sprinkled with sure-fire hits, like razor-clam crudo, suckling pig, and tasty pastas.

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